


Important Topics

by afteriwake



Series: Lingering Winter [13]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2012-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-16 11:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With his newfound duties as a captain of the Gotei 13, Ichigo needs to rely on his lieutenant, Momo. He just hopes she doesn't have any feelings towards him that are more than friendly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Important Topics

**Author's Note:**

> This skips ahead a bit. Ichigo has "died" while Kon was in his body and decided to stay in Soul Society, and this fic takes place about six months after Ukitake's death.

“Captain Kurosaki!” 

Ichigo turned around. It was still unusual for him to be called that, especially by Hinamori, who had had told it was okay to call him Ichigo. But here she was, running to catch up with her new Captain, calling him Captain Kurosaki. “What is it, Hinamori?”

She blushed slightly. When he had asked what she wanted him to call her, she had been at a loss. He settled on calling her by her last name, and she had said that was fine, but even now she blushed when he called her that. “I have my Lieutenant’s report. I thought you might want to look it over.”

He looked at her for a moment. “What report?”

“All Lieutenants have to write a weekly report on their division,” she said, handing him some papers. “We have to talk about morale and training and things like that. I just finished my report.”

He looked at the papers in his hand. “Okay, I’ll read it. But later, all right?”

“It’s due in two hours,” she said quietly.

He looked at her and then grinned slightly. “Rukia can wait, then. Wouldn’t want to make you late with your report.”

She smiled back at him. “Thank you, Captain Kurosaki.”

“I told you to call me Ichigo,” he said as they began walking back to their division headquarters. “If we’re supposed to be a team, we can be a little less formal.”

She was quiet. “Could I call you Ichigo-san? When it’s just the two of us?”

“Yeah, that works,” he said with a nod and a bigger smile. “I’ll have to learn to live with Captain Kurosaki anyway, because that’s what everyone else calls me.”

She smiled at him. “I think you’re a good Captain.”

“That makes me feel better,” he said. “I’m still not used to everything.”

“My…he…” Her voice faltered, and then she took a deep breath, the smile gone. “Aizen was a good Captain, but you’re better.”

Ichigo stopped and looked at her. “He was a good Captain?” he asked.

“Yes, but…it was all a lie,” she said quietly, looking down. “But the Division, we did very well with him. Things fell apart for a while after…he left, and now things are becoming good again.”

He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hinamori, I want to tell you that I promise I’ll never be like Aizen. I won’t lie to you.”

She looked up and gave him a shy smile. “I know.”

“Good.” He removed his hand from her shoulder and they continued walking. “I’ll be leaving to visit the living world in a week. I’ll be gone for two days. My sisters are having their birthdays, and they asked me to be there for the party.”

“I wish I could go there. I would love to go to the world of the living,” she said.

“Maybe someday there might be a reason for you to go there. And hopefully it won’t be for a war.” He sighed. “I’m still not used to how everyone’s moved on, and I’m here and they’re there.”

“What did you find out the last time you were there?” she asked.

“Ishida and Inoue have begun seeing each other,” he replied. “I never saw that one coming, but there it is. Another friend became the best martial artist in her grade in all of Japan. My sister Karin joined a new soccer team and plays in actual league matches.” He sighed. “I guess it’s because I’m dead, but not really dead. They know they’ll see me again, and then I’ll get filled in on everything, and then I’ll leave and they’ll keep on living.”

“It must be lonely,” she said.

He looked surprised for a moment, and then nodded. “Yeah, it kinda is. I mean, Rukia and Renji are here, and there’s you and my cousins, and I get along with some other people, but it’s not the same. Especially with all this responsibility that got thrust on me.”

“You consider me to be a friend?” she asked.

“Getting there,” he said. “You’re a good person, someone I’m glad I know. But you have to stop being so formal and just…loosen up.”

“I don’t know if I can do that, Ichigo-san,” she said with a blush.

“I think you can.” They got to their division headquarters and went inside. “You just have to remember my promise, and try and get to know me.”

“I will.” He went inside first and sat down at the couch while Hinamori went to her desk and waited while he read the report. He looked very serious as he read, and then finally he grinned. He put the report aside and focused that grin on her. “I think it’s a good report, Hinamori. I like the reference to our third seat at the end.”

She blushed slightly. “Thank you. I’ll go turn this report in now.” She went over to him and took the report and left.

He watched her go, and the grin dropped just a little. It was very obvious to him that she had a crush on him, and it worried him a bit. He had heard from Matsumoto that the same had held true of her and Aizen, and he didn’t want her to draw any comparisons between them because they were very different people. With a sigh, he got back up and headed towards where he hoped Rukia would be. Maybe between them they could figure out some way of dealing with this.


End file.
